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Thread: Old dog seeking new ventures...?

  1. #1

    Default Old dog seeking new ventures...?

    What to sell this year?

    Hello all, and happy New Year.

    I work part time, from home, setting appointments with business owners, for in-the-field advertising sales agents across different states.
    The actual pay scale + commissions is a far cry from the recruiting ad statements; I have yet to earn a decent paycheck in 4 months.

    Q: Why does the guy in the trenches (on the phone lead generator) always get the micro-share of the revenue pie?
    The gross revenue for this co. generated from my leads is now over $10K.
    Guess my share of the commissions? (almost $600.00- slightly Less than 6%!)

    I have 25+ years of telephone-oriented sales and marketing work experience, with both the B2-B and Consumer markets,

    in many different industries; and yet have nothing to show for it!
    I've made a lot of money for a lot of people, and my share always equates to an impressive resume, many favorable 'great worker' recommendations, and a profile as an
    excellent customer service rep.

    I realized that you need to own a business yourself, if you really desire finacial rewards of any kind.
    So I tried to take the bull by the horns almost 10 years ago, and started my own service-based agency, not once but twice.

    In the first instance, (Indep. Bus. Telecom agent),
    I spent a year building up an entire monthly-revenue generating client database from scratch, (from real cold-calling, mind you) and the co. went bankrupt on paper, but actually merged with a larger firm, then negated all the agents' residual income agreements, (so much for evergreen contracts), thereby dropping a bunch of great salesmen
    directly into the rolls of the unemployment line.


    In the second venture, (Data sales Consultant),
    my largest single sale grossed $14000, and my share was $3000. It's been peanuts ever since. I know I can sell, but what should I sell?

    So there you have it; it seems as if I am again faced with the grim reality of starting the new year by returning to generic call center employment, paying min. wages to it's employees, with long hours and usually an overstressed and demanding management team, and after reading your blogs, I think I can do better!

    I sincerely need direction in how best to employ my own intuition, ambition, and capabilities to call my own shots in order to gain the standard of living I seek, while at the same time providing a legit and necessary service to clients, customers, etc.

    NOTE: I've faithfully subscribed for years to the ideas of Dale Carnegie, Earl Nightingale, Napoleon Hill, Zig Zigler, Tom Hopkins, Bryan Tracey, Wayne Dwyer, Og Mandino, and many others, but have never been able to implement anything of lasting consequence other than providing great service, while others just get rich. Must be my lot in life, don't you agree? LOL!

    I intend to circle-file my entire self-help library, as soon as today, or for sure, by tomorrow!

    (I'm not trying to set the world on fire here, you understand, just wish to make a decent living with the tools I have..that's it)


    All intelligent comments and suggestions welcome, as open-mindedness is the first requirement for change.
    End

    Excuse my long-windedness, I should blog too!

    Thanks for reading!

  2. #2
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    Default

    Selling is a serious skill and it seems like you have it. Kudos to you.
    So the question is, how do you leverage your talents into a decent business?

    There is a company called "Verified" that calls past clients/customers and gets reviews from them.
    I have also worked with a lady in the past who's small business provides a simular service, calling for reviews, referrals, and setting appointments for additional services.

    From what I see, they both charge a pretty nice clip for these services.

    Could possibly something in this area, with maybe your own spin on it be worth looking into?
    Last edited by Harold Mansfield; 01-04-2014 at 03:06 PM.

  3. #3

    Default

    Oooof! I'm a career salesman of more than 30 years selling.

    Their are tiers of sales people and there are product types that earn you more money than others. It sounds like you have spent a great deal of your sales career in lead generation. That's the bottom tier and won't lead to any big money unless you are able to follow the lead to the actual order. By that, I mean if you get the lead and turn it over to another sales person at a higher tier, you won't make any money.

    If that is not the case, but you are finding customers and selling to them through the whole process, look at what the top salesman in the company makes. If he makes 50k then that's the best you are going to do in that company.

    Look for products and companies that pay sales people well. Most 'real' companies will have a compensation plan the should make you over $100k. I wouldn't even look at a job that didn't have at least that in potential earnings. Many industries can't pay that. If that is your case go to a different industry.

    B2B industries tend to pay more. Retail a lot less unless you are way up in management.

    Find an industry that you can understand that pays well. One way to look at it is the size of a typical order and the margin the company makes on that. It could be something as simple as a company that wholesales PVC pipe to semiconductor sales in Silicon Valley.

    Learn everything about the industry and the companies in that industry. Then, you look for a job in that company. Just to get in the door you might take any medial job in the company if it's a good company and promotes within.

    Once you are in the door, learn their product inside and out. Try to get a customer service position to really know the product. Then start looking for sales positions within the company. Eventually you should be able to get one.

    The sales training classes you mentioned have value, but they don't really teach you how to sell. I had the luxury of working for some excellent sales managers early in my career. Getting out in the trenches with someone competent can teach you a lot.

    You really didn't say a lot about your background so I am guessing at a lot of the above. It is certainly not the only way to approach things, but it's one option.

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